Australian Muscle Car

luke west

Well, that’s it for me as editor of this magnificent title. After eight years and 55 issues it’s time to take a backseat. I’ll still be around, moving into a part-time Editor-At-Large role to assist the new bloke in the editor’s chair, Steve Normoyle, while exploring some new opportunities now that I won’t be chained to the desk. So you will still see my byline in these pages, but Steve will be the main man from issue #109. He’s had a long involvement with the magazine and publishing generally, carving out many pieces already in these pages, so AMC’s 18-year-and-counting legacy is in good hands.Like any new job, my time in the editor’s chair in the early days was full-on and challenging. But I soon worked out who bought…

australian muscle car

EDITOR Luke West – Email: amceditorial@chevron.com.au CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Steve Normoyle GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PRODUCTION  Art Director - Chris Currie CONTRIBUTORS Brett Jurmann, Mark Mathot, Bob Morris, Bruce Moxon, Paul Newby, Bruce Newton, Angus Watts Advertising Sales Director Cameron Davis - Email: cdavis@nextmedia.com.au (02) 9901 6177 – 0401 547 112 Chairman Ray Berghouse - Email: rberghouse@chevron.com.au CIRCULATION DIRECTOR: Carole Jones Executive Chairman: David Gardiner Managing Director: Hamish Bayliss…

hsv confirms zl1 and manual transmis ions for 2019

The availability of manual transmissions and the ZL1 high-performance model – that’s the big news from HSV’s 2019 Camaro model lineup announcement. With its supercharged 6.2-litre LT4 V8 delivering 480kW and around 860Nm (HSV is yet to confirm the final torque figure), ZL1’s performance will be in the realm of HSV’s previous flagship, the GTSR-W1.It should also shape up nicely against Ford’s new limited-edition supercharged Mustang, or indeed even Premcar’s just-launched Falcon ‘Holy Grail’ 483kW upgrade.The ZL1 model – which celebrates its 50th birthday this year – is the fastest, most powerful Camaro GM offers. Expect the Australian right-hand drive version to reach 100km/h off the standing start in 3.5 seconds along the way to clocking the 400m in mid-11s.All that performance comes at a hefty price – $159,990…

hands on the holy grail

I honestly do not know whether to laugh or cry. Laugh because I am driving the stirring, whirring, snarling supercharged Holy Grail Ford Falcon around the Broadford racetrack. And it’s the best Falcon I have ever driven.Cry? Because I am driving the best Falcon ever and it’s more than two years after the last production example of that mighty breed rolled from the blue oval’s Broadmeadows assembly line.The Holy Grail is a revelation, a peek into what might have been in an alternate universe and an unexpurgated demonstration of how much life the Falcon still had in it when it died.Life? Holy Grail has all the vitality, energy and wildness of teenagers smashing bodies in a Violent Soho mosh pit. Yet it handles with the mature killer smoothness of…

back to lot 6 day

The 50th anniversary of the Falcon GT-HO will be celebrated on Bathurst 1000 race day this October with a ‘Back to Lot 6’ event on the former site of Ford’s famed in-house race team in Melbourne.The Ford GT-HO Lot 6 Foundation, in conjunction with Elite Automotive, is hosting a special ticketed function on Sunday, October 13, 2019 at 224 Mahoneys Road, Thomastown, the birthplace of the racing HOs in 1969.The day will include attendance by former mechanics and drivers, a sit-down lunch, viewing the Great Race live on a big screen and special celebratory activities. The latter includes firing up GT-HOs to signal the race start and a ground-kissing ceremony. Although the building’s facade has been reworked and the old workshop area divided, inside retains the look and…

#17 mustang wins in tcm

Steven Johnson s quest for a third Touring Car Masters series title began in fine style at the Adelaide 500 meeting with a trio of race wins in the #17 Mustang. Adam Bressington was second overall, while series debutant and fellow Camaro driver Ryal Harris was third. SL/R Toranas dominated the grid numerically, but it was a different story on the results sheets. Perennial frontrunner John Bowe suffered engine woes on Saturday and, with a cobbled together engine, played catch-up thereafter. Marcus Zukanovic’s XD Falcon created plenty of interest, and it will be joined on the grid at some stage this season by Team Johnson’s tribute to the famed DJR Tru-Blu XDs. The series now heads to Phillip Island for round two over April 12-14. Subsequent rounds will be…